The Beach
by MKproot
Summary: A peaceful, romantic evening at the beach turns into a search and rescue mission for one FBI agent, who is struggling to stay alive in a very unhappy body of water...Hotch/Prentiss
1. Storm

Note: I do not own Hotch or Prentiss, who are characters on Criminal Minds (obviously because you probably found this while searching for that tv show lol) I know that this first chapter is short and may seem a little confusing and not enough, but I assure you the next chapter will be better. :) The song used is called "Storm" by Lifehouse.

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"_How long have I been in this storm? So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form...Water's getting harder to tread, with these waves crashing over my head,"_

The wind is beginning to pick up. Lightning flashes on and off like a strobe light. The water rolls on top of him ferociously as the thunder rumbles louder than he has ever heard before.

He coughs as water enters and exits his mouth with the waves. He is trying to tread, but instead is almost flailing, the one thing you aren't supposed to do in a situation like this. His body stings as the salt water of the ocean enters all of his open wounds. He has several cuts on his face, but the more serious ones are on his legs and arms. He keeps telling himself it isn't as bad as the seven cuts that the Reaper gave him, but thinking about that just gives him more pain...

"_If I could just see you, everything would be alright...If I'd see you, this darkness would turn to light..."_

How did he get here? He was walking on the beach with the beautiful Emily Prentiss, watching the sun set. There weren't any clouds. It was just the golden sun, emitting a reddish shade and causing the sky to deviate from its normal blue nature. He remembers the calm water casually splashing their feet as they walked on the wet sand, letting their footsteps vanish as they continued. There were no boats on the water. Either there was another spot for fishing or people were eating dinner. It was just them and nothing else but the elements of nature.

She had to go to the bathroom. She walked through the sand as the t-shirt covering her bathing suit flapped gently in the soft wind. He smiled as she waved at him from the bathroom door. He then looked back at the water and suddenly saw a boat docked at the launch point. He looked around the beach and didn't see or hear anything...Until he felt a strong force smack the back of his head and he fell to the ground...

What did Emily do when she came out of the bathroom, though? Did she panic and run around frantically, looking for him? Maybe she thought he went to the bathroom, too. Did she call the police or the team? Did she get taken too? Maybe she hasn't even come out of the bathroom yet. Did she just leave, figuring that he left her? Maybe she got shot and she's sitting on a toilet while her blood drips down into the hole. Did she just leave, not giving a damn about him anymore?

Whatever the case, he wants his Emily. He wants to know that _she _is okay. He could care less about his problems right now. He'll start worrying about himself once he knows Emily is okay...

"_And I will walk on water, and you will catch me if I fall. And I will get lost into your eyes. I know everything will be alright...I know everything is all right."_

Tears begin to flow down his face, but for all he knows it could be sweat or water. He needs nothing more than to see those swirly brown eyes, to see her pale face, to see that shiny black hair...

His legs suddenly freeze in pain. He needs to give them a rest. They feel bad enough with the cuts, but the exercise of kicking his feet back and forth is exhausting his muscles. If he doesn't give them rest, there's a chance he won't stay above-

"_I know you didn't bring me out here to drown...So why am I ten feet under and upside down? Barely surviving has become my purpose because I'm so used to living underneath the surface..."_

A large wave rushes at him and throws him underwater. He struggles to get back to the surface, but his attempts fail. He slowly loses control of his body. Pain is overcoming his mind, though he's trying as hard as he can to keep control.

He can see the clouds of blood float in the water as his arms fall to his sides. He looks down into the abyss before his head is lifted up. His arms and legs begin to float with his body, bending it as if he is lying on a table...an autopsy table... He needs to fight, though. Why can't he fight? He needs to fight for her...

"_If I could just see you, everything would be alright...If I'd see you, this darkness would turn to light..."_

He can't move his body. He feels the water moving his body for him. The water's force is beginning to calm down, but the speed isn't. He can't see what exactly is going on because he is shutting his eyes tightly as water splashes onto his face. He can't open his mouth without water entering it and causing him to choke. He's getting all the air he can through his nose, but that's filling with water, too.

_"And I will walk on water, and you will catch me if I fall. And I will get lost into your eyes."_

He can see her, though. He can see her in his mind. Her smiling face, but mostly her eyes. He feels as if he's staring directly into them, letting himself get lost in heavenly color of brown...just like the earth, just like a cute little squirrel, just like coffee...

"_I know everything will be alright...I know everything is all right."_

But he isn't all right...


	2. Without You

So...Chapter Two of hopefully and epic Hotch/Prentiss fic. (Or as I like to call it, Hotchentiss.) Song used is "Without You" by Three Days Grace, which while writing this I realized is kind of a short song, but not really. Hope you enjoy the update! Criminal Minds belongs to CBS.

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"_What if I walked without you? What if I ran without you? What if I stand without you? I could not go on,"_

She pushes the door to the outside open, noticing it's gotten a tad bit darker while she was using the washroom. She smiles and looks around for him, knowing he was still waiting for her...right?

He's not walking or standing or sitting on the sand. He doesn't seem to be in the water. Maybe he went to the bathroom, too?

"Aaron?" Prentiss shouts as she knocks on the door to the men's washroom. There is no answer after ten seconds of silence. She pushes open the door and walks into the bathroom, even though it is for men only. All the stalls are open and all the urinals are empty. There's no evidence he was even in the washroom. No wet floor from his wet hands, no sandy floor from his sandy feet...

She walks out of the bathroom, hoping he was underwater when she happened to come out. She looks around and he is nowhere to be found again. She looks behind the building, behind the bar, up the trees...There's no footprints in the sand that would signal he left her...

Unless he swam away from her. But she would see him, wouldn't she?

"AARON!" she yells. "AARON HOTCHNER!"

Her voice echoes into the seemingly endless ocean. She notices that the waves are beginning to pick up in speed and amount. Dark clouds are beginning to cover the colorful canvas that surrounds the sun.

She does get one answer, though, and that is a large rumble of thunder. She walks to the pavilion where she had put her purse to prevent it from getting sandy. She takes out her cell phone and is surprised to see that she has service. She selects her contacts and her heart skips a beat when she comes to the first name, Aaron Hotchner. She continues on until she reaches David Rossi.

"C'mon, pick up..." she mutters as the call rings.

"_What if I lived without you? What if I loved without you? What if I died without you? I could not go on,"_

"The number you are dialing is not available..." an automated message begins to tell her. She hangs up and continues to the next team member, Derek Morgan.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"Damnit, Derek, pick up!" Prentiss through clenched teeth.

"Whoa, Prentiss, where's the fire?" Morgan answers, obviously hearing her anger.

"_You left my side tonight, and I just don't feel right. I can't let you out of sight..."_

"Derek, there's something wrong. Hotch and I are still at the beach, and I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he was gone," Prentiss explains in a worried tone of voice. "I checked everywhere for him and I don't see him anywhere,"

There is a moment of silence. Prentiss notices her breathing is fast and heavy. Her heart is beating as fast as it does when she chases after a suspect.

"We'll be right over," Morgan tells her and she hears the dial tone. She collapses onto the seat of one of the picnic tables under the pavilion. She remembers how the whole team spent the day at the beach, having wrapped up a case earlier this morning. Hotch felt that the team deserved a break...and the jet was having mechanical problems...

So until then they spent the day at the beach, planning to hit one of the bars later to have a drink as a reward for their hard work on the case. Hotch and Prentiss decided to spend a little more time together before returning to the hotel to change and hit the bar with the rest of the team.

But how could such a happy day and somewhat evening turn into a disaster like this? Why must bad things happen when everyone is having a good time, living their lives for the many people that they've encountered that obviously can't?

"_Without you, I'm no one, I'm nothing at all,"_

She stares out into the horizon, hoping she will see him rise out of the water and rush to greet her, not realizing that she thought he was lost. But she knows that he isn't pulling a prank on her. She knows that he didn't run away from her. She knows that he must have been taken...or raped...or in the process of being tortured...or killed...

She closes her eyes and she can still see his face, smiling for the first time in too long of a time. He needed this break, this relaxation, this night with the one person he loves just as much as Haley, even more than Haley...

"_What if I lie without you? What if I rise without you? And what if I dream without you? I could not go on..."_

Her head begins to throb with all of the ideas of what could possibly be happening to him. She hears rain begin to tap on the roof without missing a beat in a song that has no rests. Thunder begins to rumble louder and longer as lighting flashes in the distance. The waves are growing even stronger and louder...

"_You left my side tonight, and I just don't feel right. I can't let you out of sight. Without you, I'm no one..."_

She puts her head in her hands, praying to God for the first time in ages that nothing has happened to him.

What would she tell Jack? The poor kid already lost one parent, he doesn't need to lose another one, even if it was for some "heroic" cause...

How would the team survive without its leader? Sure, he's had to step down before, but he was still part of the team, part of the family...

How would she survive without the love of her life? He's the only person she could truly love on this earth. They were made for each other. Sure, they weren't together till fairly recently, but sometimes true love can take that long.

But it would take longer for her to get over the nightmares of his dead body.

It would take longer for her to look Jack Hotchner in the eye without breaking down.

It would take longer to wake up in the morning without clenching her chest, feeling as if her heart had been removed.

It would take longer for her to live the living hell she would be forced into with his death...

"_I'm nothing at all,"_

It would take longer for her soul to return to its shell.


	3. So Far Away

I do not own Criminal Minds, CBS does. The song used this time around is "So Far Away" by Avenged Sevenfold.

I am really sorry I haven't updated lately, I've been busy with school and work. :/ I'm going to try and update as much as I can. I hope you like this chapter! Please review!

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"_Never feared for anything, never shamed but never free,"_

Everyone is in the pavilion, which has become infested with flashlights and lanterns. The storm is finally dying down, but the beach is now enclosed in darkness.

But the beach isn't the only thing currently residing in the dark. Her heart has been beating relentlessly since she called Morgan. Her gut has been twisting and turning in every possible angle that it can. She has the euphoric feeling as if she is free falling or just got scared by a screamer on the internet.

Why is she afraid, though? She's not even the one in danger.

"_A light that healed a broken heart with all that it could/ Lived a life so endlessly, saw beyond what others see/ I tried to heal your broken heart with all that I could,"_

Why is he the one? Why him? Why not her? Stereotypically, she would be the easier target. He's just gone through his ex-wife's tragic death...he just killed a man with his bare hands...Hasn't his mind been broken enough? They were finally starting to glue the pieces back together, even the ones that managed to slip under the couch...Why does it have to be broken again?

"_Will you stay? Will you stay away forever?_"

"I had gone to the bathroom, and when I came out he was gone," Prentiss informs the team as she hugs the blanket around her. JJ is sitting next to her, resting her hand on Prentiss' knee. Morgan's hand is resting on his gun and Prentiss observes that he seems to be ready to beat the living daylights out of anyone connected to this crime. His other hand is reaching for his cell phone and dials a number without even looking. Rossi is kneeing at Prentiss' level, as if he is talking to someone shorter than him. His eyes are fierce and sting everyone else's with determination. Reid is looking around the area, but is still close to the team. Prentiss knows the gears in his head are turning, trying to figure out the solution to this...

"Speak, my sweet prince," Garcia greets Morgan as she answers Morgan's call. Even though Morgan has turned away and walked a couple of steps, she can still hear Garcia's normal peppy voice.

"Garcia, I need you to get satellite photos of our location from the last hour. Monitor this whole area after you've done that," Morgan orders her.

"Sure, wha-what's going on?" Garcia asks, her tone suddenly changing upon Morgan's persistence.

"Hotch has gone missing," Morgan tells her quietly, but Prentiss can still hear his words and they sting her sharply in the heart, as if nothing else was already stabbing it.

"_How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book, it's burned/ Place in time, always on my mind/ I have so much to say and you're so far away,"_

Rossi and JJ suddenly look up, as if waiting for Hotch's direction on the situation. Prentiss also looks up, searching for her leader, for her friend...for her soul mate...

"_Plans of what our futures hold, foolish lies of growing old/ It seems we're so invincible, but the truth is so cold...A final song, a last request, a perfect chapter laid to rest/ Now and then I try to find a place in my mind/ Where you can stay, you can stay awake forever,"_

Prentiss focuses on the ocean once more as she suddenly sees blinking lights sail on the open sea. She can hear voices emit from an officer's walkie-talkie, but the voices are indistinct and soft.

"Coast guard hasn't found anything, but they're gonna go a bit further since the storm's died down," the officer informs the team. Morgan punches a post in the pavilion.

What is happening to him? Has he been shot? Is his body floating near or at the surface? If it is, why hasn't it reached the shore yet?

Is he being tortured? Is he on a boat still streaming through the rough ocean's water? Did someone tie some kind of weight to his ankle and drown him?

Is he being raped? Is he being tortured by some sexual sadist that is even worse than Frank?

Why is she thinking about this? There has been victims before that Prentiss has never wondered about before. Why is this victim any different?

"_How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book its burned/ Place and time always on my mind, I have so much to say but you're so far away/ Sleep tight, I'm not afraid/ The ones that we love are here with me/ Lay away a place for me/ Cause as soon as I'm done I'll be on my way/ To live eternally,"_

Prentiss begins to let go of the blanket wrapped around her. Even though she feels cold, the warmth was reminding her of the jacket he had lent her when they were all the way in Alaska...

"We _are_ going to find him, Emily," JJ comforts Prentiss as Rossi takes the blanket. JJ grasps Prentiss' hand, and Prentiss looks at her. The corners of Prentiss' mouth twitch into a smile as she remembers the time that she held JJ's hand while Garcia was in surgery.

But Hotch isn't in surgery...yet.

"What do you got, baby girl?" Morgan answers his ringing phone, putting it on speaker.

"Okay, I got the satellite photos from the last couple hours. Prentiss went into the bathroom around 8, and Hotch was taken just a couple minutes after that. From what I could tell, a black figure grabbed Hotch around his face, must have drugged him and dragged him into the water,"

"Did they surface any time after that?" Rossi asks.

"Not in the area you guys are located, but I'm still scanning anything within 50 miles,"

"You are an angel, woman," Morgan tells Garcia before hanging up.

"_How do I live without the ones I love? Time still turns the pages of the book, it's burned/ Place in time, always on my mind/ I have so much to say and you're so far away/ And the light you left remains, but it's so hard to stay/ When I have so much to say and you're so far away,"_

Prentiss suddenly stands up and begins walking to the shore of the beach. Maybe she can retrace her steps, do a cognitive interview with someone...anything they can do until Coast Guard or Garcia comes up with anything.

Prentiss stands as the shore, looking out into the increasing speed of the waves as rain drums on her skin. She closes her eyes as she feels JJ's hand grasp hers once more. She breathes in the ocean air and it brings her back to the moments of her and Hotch walking along the beach, giggling at an inside joke the two have together. She opens her eyes and turns to see him holding her hand, chuckling as if he just watched Jack do something cute.

"_I love you, you were ready/ The pain is strong enough despite, but I'll see you, when He lets me/ Your pain is gone, your hands are tied,"_

Tears form in her eyes. There was a reason this happened. What is that reason? Why did God deem it necessary to rip him away from her?

She bursts into laughter and falls to the ground, pulling him with her accidentally. She had forgotten to let go of his rough, warm hand. He begins to laugh as well, not only because of the joke, but because of the sudden euphoria that is being shared between the pair.

"What made you go to the bathroom?" Reid asks, suddenly appearing behind Hotch.

Prentiss stops laughing, but Hotch continues, stroking her hair gently, shaking his head in disbelief that they are finally together...

Prentiss didn't see anything but him at that time. But she did hear something other than the gentle waves...It sounded like a branch breaking...or something...

"_So far away, and I need you to know...So far away, and I need you to need you to know,"_

"We were being watched,"


	4. Sometimes, There's Only Silence

Words. At this point, nobody could say any. They were all waiting for a message, a signal, any type of response from the Coast Guard. Prentiss could care less what the police find around the scene. Prentiss didn't see anything when she looked through the window of the bathroom, but by the time she figured out it was a ruse, it was too late. They've all been without Hotch before, but something about this time doesn't feel right.

Time. Funny thing, time. Prentiss remembers that short time before he was kidnapped, which feels like days ago. She begins to walk, envisioning Hotch beside her once more, smiling at her while the gentle twilit waves brush against their feet and ankles, though in reality the scene is much gloomier.

Why did the unsub have to take him? Why did they come to _this_ beach? Why couldn't they have taken someone else on some other beach? What's so special about this beach? What's so special about Aaron Hotchner?

His voice that commands thousands of armies and just as easily tells Jack a bed time story with all the character's funny voices. His eyes that could intimidate any foe, but yet comfort those who are in need of it. His very dominant, in-control personality which is the reason why he is such a good leader, and makes him very protective of his team. His wit, which can crack the toughest criminals and also see when something is wrong with anybody by looking at their body language. His mind, which had the potential of being criminal, but with his influence, made him the man who catches criminals.

Prentiss is far away from the pavilion now. To her, the pavilion just seems like a blob of black with speckles of light throughout. She can see the faint flashing lights of the Coast Guard in the distance, which gives her a spark of hope, but also a spark of doubt. What if he's underwater? Would they be able to see him if he is? It would explain why they haven't found him yet…

Suddenly, a hand appears on her shoulder. Prentiss jumps slightly, but does not feel threatened or harmed. This hand is not communicating danger or caution, but comfort. The owner of this hand is Derek Morgan. He smiles with confidence to her that they will find him, and they continue to walk.

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Words. He can't say any. He can't cry for help and he can barely open his mouth. He's trying to let the waves bring him in, but the waves are still too wild. He wishes he could just swim to shore, but he knows he doesn't have the strength. He's trying to spend most of his strength staying attached to a stray surfboard he found.

Time. How much more time does he have left? He has almost drowned a couple times already, but how much longer until he does go under for good this time? How much longer until the pain he's feeling overcomes him? How much longer until he sees Haley again?

No. It's not time to see Haley again. He shouldn't even think that question. How long until he sees Jack? Emily? The team?

He needs to stay strong. He needs to see them again.

The waves are beginning to settle down. He can see the clouds begin to drift apart. Is this just the calm before another storm, or is the storm over?

The shore isn't _that_ far away…If he can just relax and let the tide guide him in, he'll wash up on the shore eventually…right?

But what if he loses all his blood before then?

Wait, why would he loose blood?

_Because of the stab wo—stab wounds?_

His wounds are gone. The pain is still there, but the wounds are gone. What did they do to him?

_They? More than two people brought me to the submarine._

Submarine? He was taken to a submarine and then let out into the ocean?

Drugs. They must have drugged him, and that's why he can't remember anything. That's why he's feeling pain that isn't there. But everything's becoming clear now, just like the shore is becoming clearer in his vision.

There's something in the distance on the shore. Prentiss looks to Morgan, who also notices it. He aims his flashlight's beams at the figure, which seems to have washed up on the shore. They can't get a clear view of the figure, mainly due to the darkness caused by the clouds that are still slowly drifting apart. The sun begins to shine its rays on the figure, and something ignites a burst of adrenaline in Prentiss.

* * *

She begins to run to the figure, which seems to be half in the water and half on the shore. As she gets closer, she can see more details in the light of Morgan's flashlight. The figure seems to be human, which causes Prentiss to run faster. But what if this is just a dead body, dumped in the ocean and washed up on shore from a case that is totally unrelated to Hotch?

But this human has dark, wet hair, just as Hotch's is when it's wet. He's wearing the same white button-up shirt that Hotch was when he was taken.

She finally reaches the human and rolls him over. He begins coughing water as Prentiss smiles. When he's done coughing, Hotch smiles weakly back at her.

Sometimes, there's only silence. Words didn't have to be exchanged between the two. Time was no longer an issue in their minds. They will catch the unsub later, which Hotch is ready to talk. Right now, the only thing that matters is that they are together.

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So, this is the grand finale I have finally been able to conjure up. I know it seems short, but this is only the beginning. I plan to continue this plot in another story, which will be up as soon as I can write it. I deeply apologize that this took me so long to finish, work and school have kept me very busy. I hope you all enjoyed this story, please let me know what you think with a review!

Criminal Minds belongs to CBS


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